Post by Ellie on Mar 16, 2013 14:32:02 GMT -5

I don't think I've seen a thread on here addressing this, really. If I'm wrong, steer me in the right direction, please...

I'm considering buying a cargo bag for the roof of my car when going on camping trips. Specifically, 2 adults and 2 kids in a car with all our camping gear for a sunny beach trip doesn't really fit when we like to be prepared as we do. EZ Ups alone take a good deal of space already. Now, we considered taking 2 cars, but if I can avoid that great! Also, would help maybe make room for a 3rd adult on the way to/from Roo and whatnot.

Thing is... many bags are made for cars with roof racks on them. We only have 4-door sedans... There are a few that can clip to your windows, but I'm hoping I can find 1 of those that will be durable and isn't too small but also not too expensive. Under $100 ideal. So far, I've found a few but I want to make sure I'm getting the most bang for my buck and it'll last a few years while we go on camping and festival trips.

I was looking at something like this:

Any suggestions? Personal experiences?? I know the aerodynamics are reduced when it's on there, but I'd rather get a little worse gas mileage than take cars and use double the gas and add that mileage to both cars.

I wish I had an SUV/minivan or could even have a hitch to attach a cargo carrier instead...

Post by luvdatroo on Mar 19, 2013 22:44:33 GMT -5

I was considering this as well. Anyone know how they would search these? Would you have to unlatch it and bring it down so they could rifle through it sounds like a huge hassle.

You just open the door and stand on the edge of the car and pull the big stuff down first then pull everything else out. You don't take it down full. When you load it up put it on the roof and the put the stuff in.

Post by Ellie on Mar 20, 2013 14:15:14 GMT -5

I was reading how some people use an anti-slip mat (like the ones you can use under rugs I think?) in between the bag and roof.

Maybe some extra rachet straps to make sure it's tied down well to the car, antislip mat to make sure it doesn't slip off, and I read a review of it that said twisting the straps or using a special strap/bungee cord to tie the 2 straps together sorta keeps the straps quieter since it tightens them/adds more tension.

Overall, I like the reviews I read. I'll be extra careful what I put inside and put in bags and what I wrote above, but it's a great deal. Worth a shot.

Post by uv_ajed on Mar 21, 2013 23:17:32 GMT -5

I wish I had an SUV/minivan or could even have a hitch to attach a cargo carrier instead...

That could be an option right there even with a 4-door sedan, depending on how big of a car you are talking about. With something larger/heavier/sturdier, like a Chevy Impala, Toyota Camry, Ford Taurus/500 or Crown Vic, etc., you could certainly add a hitch and a cargo carrier, possibly even for $100. I've thought about doing this, but my 2010 Mazda 3 is not an ideal car to hang weight out behind it, and the car I would most likely be able to borrow is also a 2010 Mazda 3, haha. Hell, it might even be fine for a small car if you were careful to put a few bulky but light items on the hitch carrier. I've also been wondering about using a trunk-mounted bike carrier to carry things like chairs, which aren't especially heavy but take up valuable trunk space.

On the other hand, if your drive isn't too too far then taking two cars, while not green, would have the added benefit of giving you double the camp space. Last year we had three cars between five people (only because we drove from three distinct locations and couldn't time any car-pooling) and it was really nice to have room for 2 canopies, 2 tents, and have room to move. On the other hand, gas is not cheap anymore, and those rooftop cargo bags are intriguing. The local Walmart had a strap-on roof rack on sale for like $45 last time I was there, too.

Post by Ellie on Mar 22, 2013 7:39:01 GMT -5

I wish I had an SUV/minivan or could even have a hitch to attach a cargo carrier instead...

That could be an option right there even with a 4-door sedan, depending on how big of a car you are talking about. With something larger/heavier/sturdier, like a Chevy Impala, Toyota Camry, Ford Taurus/500 or Crown Vic, etc., you could certainly add a hitch and a cargo carrier, possibly even for $100. I've thought about doing this, but my 2010 Mazda 3 is not an ideal car to hang weight out behind it, and the car I would most likely be able to borrow is also a 2010 Mazda 3, haha. Hell, it might even be fine for a small car if you were careful to put a few bulky but light items on the hitch carrier. I've also been wondering about using a trunk-mounted bike carrier to carry things like chairs, which aren't especially heavy but take up valuable trunk space.

On the other hand, if your drive isn't too too far then taking two cars, while not green, would have the added benefit of giving you double the camp space. Last year we had three cars between five people (only because we drove from three distinct locations and couldn't time any car-pooling) and it was really nice to have room for 2 canopies, 2 tents, and have room to move. On the other hand, gas is not cheap anymore, and those rooftop cargo bags are intriguing. The local Walmart had a strap-on roof rack on sale for like $45 last time I was there, too.

Hmm. I have a Toyota Corolla and the bf has a Honda Civic. I don't think installing a roof rack or hitch + cargo carrier would be as cost effective as this $34 roof bag + a few extra securing/anti-slip supplies. *shrug*

Our other regular camping trip is around 3.5 hours away, I believe. We'll definitely need at least 1 EZ Up and only 1 tent, plus gear for 2 adults and 2 older children/teens. It'd be nicer to have the clan in 1 car so we could interact.

For Roo, we had 3 cars and 3 EZ Ups with a nice little tent city setup. 6 tents, 9 people total with a seating area in the middle. I should scrounge around and see if anyone got good pics of it. I'd like to do something similar again.

This year, our group is mainly passengers so we might be stuck taking both of our cars. I hope another driving volunteer or 2 can join our carpool by June. *crosses fingers*

I got the roof bag in the mail yesterday. I need to look it over and test it out at some point. I'm thinking if it's good, I may get another so each of our cars can have 1 when we neee both cars for camping/festival trips. The mail $34 price is definitely nice!

Post by Ellie on May 9, 2013 20:04:42 GMT -5

I still haven't tested out my roof bag I'm thinking I'll need to try out it at the end of the month, for the beach trip I'm going on with the bf and his 2 kids. would love if we could fit in 1 car... *fingers crossed*

Post by o'neil on May 9, 2013 20:16:19 GMT -5

don't know how long your drive to roo is, but def try it out first! I used a Thule soft cargo roof carrier on the roof rack of my last car, an Explorer, on the way to Disney a few years ago, and the straps were suuuper noisy. as in, I could not hear anything else over the relentless flapping. as in, just thinking about it brings that terrible sound right back. pretty much crazy-making. I pulled over multiple times to adjust and tighten them to no avail.it was a 9+ hr drive.and possibly one of the reasons I opted to fly (and travel lighter) when we went this year! that particular drive has been forever marred.

that being said, I hope your bag is quieter or you can engineer a way to get the straps secured better! best of luck

Post by Ellie on May 9, 2013 20:26:41 GMT -5

Some shifting of drivers/cars and whatnot and I might not need it. If I do take it, I'll put foam floor mats or something I don't care much about in there, and if it falls and I have no room for what's in it, then it's not a big loss.

But I definitely need this for the shorter trip to the beach (3.5ish hour drive). Our drive to Roo will probably be around 11ish hours but we managed ok with just packing the trunk and backseat to the brim. (and that's now our plan, instead of when I originally posted this thread)

If you read reviews on yours and other roof bags probably (like I did on this 1), there are some people that suggest extra straps you buy separately and I even read a trucker suggest to people with this roof bag to twist the straps before attaching them to the door frame and whatnot. Tightens it up and makes it less noisy. I guess it depends on how each is laid out.

Post by o'neil on May 9, 2013 21:09:59 GMT -5

Some shifting of drivers/cars and whatnot and I might not need it. If I do take it, I'll put foam floor mats or something I don't care much about in there, and if it falls and I have no room for what's in it, then it's not a big loss.

But I definitely need this for the shorter trip to the beach (3.5ish hour drive). Our drive to Roo will probably be around 11ish hours but we managed ok with just packing the trunk and backseat to the brim. (and that's now our plan, instead of when I originally posted this thread)

If you read reviews on yours and other roof bags probably (like I did on this 1), there are some people that suggest extra straps you buy separately and I even read a trucker suggest to people with this roof bag to twist the straps before attaching them to the door frame and whatnot. Tightens it up and makes it less noisy. I guess it depends on how each is laid out.

hopefully that helps for your beach trip then! I have gotten a lot better at consolidated packing I think, so hopefully will never need one again. but if I do I will definitely research some better options for securing them. probably didn't help that I have ADD so where another person might eventually tune out a repetitive background noise, I never really do. it's all good though, and you definitely sound prepared!

Post by Ellie on May 9, 2013 21:16:03 GMT -5

The noise would annoy me too... and I read it was annoying to many others too. You're not alone. My main concern is dealing with having no roof rack and making sure it lasts/doesn't slip, etc. The noise I can probably figure out how to fix if all the rest falls into place and works out

Post by Ellie on Jun 3, 2013 12:07:59 GMT -5

so...I tested out my roof bag this weekend. It was a little nerve wrecking driving with it at first and I heard the windy sounds and whatnot I had read about in reviews. The whole putting stuff in trash bags also makes sense. We made sure to put the zipper towards the back, but we didn't put sleeping bags in trash bags in there since the forecast didnt really show rain, but we hit some on the drive home. It didn't get completely soaked, but would've helped to have them bagged. I also noticed just after the trip there to the beach, the inside of the bag was already peeling apart. So...I would only use this with more caution about bagging and things that I wouldnt care if they get wet sorta...and if the trip was mainly dry. I found it helpful that the extra length of strap from pulling it tight onto the door frame was tied inside in between the front of back doors, but then we also noticed that some rain would travel down the strap and soak it a little and some drops got on my front passenger. Not a huge deal, but not sure how I'd even prevent that.

this bag was cheap so I'm sorta ok if I don't use it again, but I hope it can be useful later. Also realized only my car could fit the hook on the door frame. It wouldnt fit and have the door closed on my bf's older Honda Civic.